1 - Articles, 2 - Background, 4 - Acceptance and integration

001 - THE RED WIRE THAT SLIDES ALONG MY PUBLICATIONS

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History and current affairs: The objective is to question the responsibility of the institutions but above all to raise awareness among young people.

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The increased availability of the means of transport and communications has facilitated the emigration to Europe of young Arabs from countries governed by laws that favor Muslim citizens over members of other religious beliefs. This state of affairs has been the cause of misunderstanding among young people who come to Europe where equality of rights prevails and non-discrimination among citizens. At this moment Islam holds the whole world with its suspended soul, for its relations with the West and the Christian world, because one can really speak of two different worlds, which meet, collide and merge. The phenomenon of emigration from Muslim countries to European countries has been increasingly accentuated in recent times. It has generated problems of coexistence between different cultures, ways of life and customs. The widespread poverty, illiteracy, population growth and wars, push a large number of young people towards Europe and Italy in particular. It should not be overlooked that they are mostly Muslims bringing with them a set of traditions and practices which, besides being very different from ours, constitute a sort of prism through which they see and judge European societies.

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1 - Articles, 1 - Christians in the arabic world, 2 - Background

002 - The TRAGEDY OF ARAB CHRISTIANS

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Corriere della Sera – pag. 11 – 06.12-1985

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I would like to recall the precarious situation of Arab Christians in the Middle East. The Arabic-speaking countries are predominantly Muslim, with a total of 120 million inhabitants, 12 million of whom are Christians, in a minority in all countries, except Lebanon. In the Arab world Lebanon is the only country in which a Christian enjoys all the rights of a citizen for the same amount of a Muslim. This is the reason why Christians in the Middle East look to Lebanon as a country of refuge in the event of heightened discrimination and where Lebanese, especially Christians, are determined to safeguard their identity. Following the partition of the Ottoman Empire after the First World War, the various confessions lived together peacefully. In the last 30 to 40 years this coexistence has been exploited by international elements outside the control of the Lebanese themselves, culminating in the events that everyone knows and with the latent danger that the only refuge of Arab Christians might disappear. They are now refugees in their own country, “aware” of being Christians. In the last 18 months, 125,000 Christians scattered among the various regions with a Muslim majority (Chouf and South) have been forced to abandon everything and take refuge in safer territory or emigrate abroad. Why does almost no one speak of this silent tragedy?

Giuseppe Samir Eid

Free web translation from the original in Italian

The published articles intend to provide the tools for a social inclusion of the migratory flow, shed light on human rights and the condition of life of Christians in the Islamic world from which the author come from. Knowledge of the other, of cultural and religious differences are primary ingredients to create peace in the hearts of men everywhere, a prerequisite for a peaceful coexistence and convinced citizenship in the territory.

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1 - Articles, 2 - Background, 3 - Arab world in turmoil

003 - WHO REMEMBERS LEBANON?

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Popoli – 12/1993

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The agreement between Israel and the Palestinians has opened up new prospects for peace in the Middle East, but it seems to ignore Lebanon, which is living its drama “protected” by the “Syrian pax”. The emigration of Arab-Christians risks compromising the balance and peaceful coexistence between different religious groups that has always characterized the country. Giuseppe Samir Eid is the author of the volume “Christian Arabs and Muslim Arabs” (NED, Milan, 1991) and collaborator of the CADR, the Ambrosian Documentation Centre for Religions in Milan.

Lebanon, “loubnan”, a land of welcome, has always been the refuge of persecuted communities. Its mountains, already known in ancient times for their precious forests, proved to be a well-kept refuge for ethnic and religious minorities from the years immediately following the Arab conquest of Syria. In the 20th century they welcomed refugees of the most diverse religious faiths from the surrounding regions.

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1 - Articles, 1 - Christians in the arabic world, 2 - Background

004 - THE STATE OF THE CHRISTIAN COMMUNITIES IN THE MIDDLE EAST

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Popoli – 01/1994

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The existence of Christians in Arab countries with a Muslim majority is becoming increasingly difficult, between the process of forced Islamization and emigration to the West. It is necessary to draw the attention of the West to these two themes: the presence and Christian and Muslim coexistence from the point of view of the Christian minority in Islamic countries; the Islamic presence in Europe from the point of view of a Middle Eastern Christian.
The two issues at first sight may seem complementary, in fact, at the second point, we will address the situation of Muslim immigrants in Italy, a country of Christian orientation, while in the first point the reality of Christians in the Middle East with a Muslim majority will be presented. In dealing with these topics it is fundamental to keep in mind two conflicting elements which are not complementary: the first is that the Muslim presence in Italy is very recent, in fact it dates back to a few decades; the second is that the presence of Christians in Middle Eastern countries dates back to the birth of Christianity, and besides being very ancient, it took place before the arrival of the Muslims. The natives of the Middle East are Christians; only around 638-641 Muslim immigrants arrived and settled thanks to the reception of Christians.
The assimilation of this historical dimension allows us to understand some Middle Eastern situations that would otherwise be incomprehensible from a European point of view. Until one understands the importance of the historical dimension for the identity of Middle Eastern peoples, nothing will be understood about the Middle East.
Immediately after the second world war the population on the northern shore of the Mediterranean basin was about twice that of the southern basin, North Africa and the Middle East; today after 50 years, the proportion has become 1: 1. The graphic demo development accompanied by a growing gap in terms of development, exposes the richest and oldest population to a “peaceful” invasion by culturally distant peoples ; a professor at the University of Cairo has quantified the gap spanning over the centuries.

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